


The Barvent Calender, 2018

by Nagasha



Category: BomBARDed (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fanart, Fluff, Just a bunch of holiday drabbles, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 15:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17267030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagasha/pseuds/Nagasha
Summary: A month long adventure in writing a prompt a day about our favorite bards. A mix of angst, fluff, and general holiday fun.





	The Barvent Calender, 2018

Day 1: Family

Family meant different things to different people:

For Mitch, it meant his whole extended family- brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. Maybe not parents, but around this time, it didn’t matter.

For Symbol, his family was Mitch-. He wasn’t much for tacky sweaters or big holiday celebrations, but he can learn to love them if it makes his boyfriend smile.

For Yashee, Family is fractured- a line drawn in the sand between the past and the present, between her mom and her dad. Normally, it’s manageable, but during the holidays she could feel the cracks in her heart.

For Raz’ul, Family was a series of cruel twists- he had to leave one family to find a new one, and then that new family left him .

For Randy, Family was a broken mask, a stolen instrument, and a teddy bear. (And maybe a gizzard wizard.)

For Chaos Sauce, though? Their family was the band, and the band was family.

\----

Day 2: Snowball Fights

The betrayal burned in the snow, chilling him to the core. He was used to it, but it still hurt worse than frostbite on his toes. But soon, soon he’ll have his revenge-

Randy’s monologue was interrupted by a snowball to the face, and the cheers of Yashee. “Oh, come on!”

“You’re the one who wanted to partner with Zil,” Raz’ul reminded him. 

In response, Randy just pointed over at Zil, who was stuck to a lamppost after attempting to lick it. “They’re a tactical genius.”

“Well, we had to have equal teams!” Yashee said, hands on her hips. “And Splash is still inside working, so...”

Randy bunched up some snow at his feet, crunching it and tossing it casually from hand to hand. “Well, if we can’t take the teacher to the snowball fight...”

“We go inside and get some hot chocolate?” Yashee asked.

Randy shot her a look, and kept forming snowballs. “We could do that, or...”

“You have to tell us what you mean, man.” Raz’ul shrugged. “We aren’t getting it.”

“Let’s make a bunch of snowballs and throw them at Splash inside.” Randy said flatly, motioning to the snow. 

“Oh...” Yashee brightened, then grabbed an armful of snow. “C’mon guys!”

With mischief in their eyes and warmth in their hearts, the three bards took their snow and ran into Strumlotts, prepared to bring the Winter Wonderland to their Scroogish Splash.

\---

Day Three: Traditions

So, what do you do for winter time?” Randy asked, kicking his little feet as he watched Raz’ul and Yashee. “I mean, I know Belm has March of the Toys, but every place seems to do something.”

“Well, in Udolloley we hang up our socks on the mantle, and when we wake up, there’s stuff in them?” Raz’ul explained. “It wasn’t anything big, just like... chocolates and oranges?”

Randy and Yashee just looked at Raz’ul like he was crazy. “You... your socks?”

“Did you at least wash them first?”

“Yes,” Raz’ul Lied. “What do you guys do?”

“My dad and I always performed together around this time,” Yashee commented.

“Oh, that’s nice!”

“Well...” Yashee rubbed the back of her head. “We kinda performed in front of people’s houses, and we also wanted money...”

“Yashee, I think that was just begging.” Raz’ul pointed out.

“Was not!” Yashee huffed, arms crossed. “Randy, what do you do around this time?”

Randy was silent for a long moment, lost in memories, before saying. “The Nowhere Man didn’t do any celebrations... but when I was a little kid, we used to write letters to this old man who gave people presents...”

“What, like Winter Wonderman?”

“No, it was this old old dude with a bushy white beard. But... I was still too young to write my own letter, so... my parents always helped me...” Randy’s eyes misted over, with memories or tears.

Carefully, Yashee and Raz’ul both wrapped an arm around Randy. “Hey, it’s okay... do you want some help writing a letter?”

“Maybe...” Randy muttered to himself more than to his band mates. “And... maybe we can go around singing at people until they pay us?”

Yashee patted his arm. “Yeah, and then we can hang our stinky socks up.”

“My socks weren’t stinky...” Raz’ul huffed, but then he smiled. “But... that sounds like a lot of fun.”

\---

Day 4: Far From Home

Home is where the heart is, according to whoever made all the ridiculous sayings. Yashee never really got it- when she asked her dad if her home was in her chest, he just laughed with her.

There was also the fact that she never had a home, or at least a solid one. She and her parents travelled around all the time, and that was good. Were they her home? But then she lost her mom- does that mean she lost half her heart?

If that was the case, she lost the other half of her heart when she had to leave to go to Strumlotts. Yashee still tried to keep him in her heart and stuff, but it was hard to keep in contact with him.

But at the same time, she loved Randy and Raz’ul, and even Splash. Does that mean they were her heart now?

Yashee looked over at Raz’ul strumming Usumthin, and Randy scribbling at his notebook, and felt like she was home.

\---

Day 5: Gift Shopping

“I told you, I’m getting them all coal,” Symbol complained even as he let Mitch drag him through the Fantasy Walmart. Gods, he hated Fantasy Walmart. 

“Well... do you really want to give them flammable items?” Mitch asked, and yeah. That was a fair point. They already caused so much chaos with magical fire, he shouldn’t fuel the flames. Still, he didn’t have to like this...

Really, he should get them all the worst presents, because they’re the worst students. Like... 

Symbol pulled a very confused Mitch into the baby section. “Uh, Symbol... are you trying to tell me something?”

“No, I’m going to buy Randy an ugly sweater.”

“But... it’s going to be too small for him.”

”Exactly,” Symbol stated confidently, before wandering over to the ‘household essentials’ section, where he picked up the biggest box of plastic spoons. “Yashee’s done.”

“But Yashee likes spoons?” Mitch asked, confused. “How would that be a bad present?”

“She likes metal spoons because she can make music out of them,” Symbol explained, heading towards the meager plant section. “Plastic spoons? Might as well give her a box of nothing.”

There, he carefully picked out the driest, the droopiest plant he could find, leaves all but wilted away. When he returned to Mitch, he saw his boyfriend looked disappointed. “What?”

“Symbol, this is really mean.”

“No, it’s fine,” Symbol said, clutching his gag gifts to his chest. “Besides, they’re probably gonna get me something completely ridiculous.”

“I... I don’t know what to say,” Symbol said, looking down at the box in front of him. When he opened it just moments ago, he saw a new hat, a spoon (apparently designed just for pudding) and a coupon for one week of not being called Splash.

It was wonderful, it was perfect, and it made him feel terrible about the presents he gave them. Behind the bards, Mitch was staring at him like a deer in the Light cantrip, and Symbol couldn’t blame him.

It was time to bite the crossbow bolt- Symbol handed his students their presents, and watched the chaos unfold as they all tore through the wrapping paper.

There was a moment of confusion as each of them examined their gifts, and Symbol was just waiting for the repercussions of his little prank. However, confusion soon turned into joy.

“A sweater for Joby!” Randy said, rushing out to grab his teddy bear. When he got back, it proved to be a perfect fit.

“Now the boys will stop trying to steal my spoons for soup night!” Yashee rattled her box. “Seriously, not cool guys.”

Meanwhile, Raz’ul was hugging his new plant and talking gently to it. “Yeah, I’m gonna nurse you back to health, and take care of you, and you can hang out with Kyle!”

Symbol breathed a sigh of relief- it looked like he was going to get away with this after all- when Mitch handed him a nicely wrapped box. “One last present, Symbol.”

Symbol opened it, only to find a large lump of coal, and a post it note that just read 'somebody's been naughty~'

\---

Day 6: Ornaments

Yashee glared up at her foe, which was an odd situation for the normally tall half orc to find herself in. If only it was because she found somebody bigger than herself.

She and her friends had been shrunken down to only a few inches tall, barely able to move under a thick layer of glass as the wicked winter wizard decided what to do with them.

On her left, Raz’ul pounded at the glass with the little movements he could make, still trapped in the form of a reindeer. On her right, Randy lay unmoving, red trailing down his forehead and over his eyes.

Yashee attempted to harness her rage, but the wizard’s wards sapped her of her strength, and there was nothing she could do but watch as he puttered around.

Finally, he clapped his hands and scooped the three up easily. “AHA! I know just what to do with you!”

“Uh... send us home?” Raz’ul guessed hopefully, giving his best puppy dog eyes up at the wizard.

“Oh no, what I have planned is MUCH better!” The wizard cheered, placing them all on the table roughly like discarded toys. “Hmm, lets start with our reindeer friend, shall we?”

He picked up Raz’ul before he could protest, and said a spell in a language long dead- Yashee’s arcana check told her it was similar to Barkskin, but also Flesh to Stone- and soon Raz’ul changed from flesh to wood, bucking and whinnying panickedly until eventually he stopped moving altogether.

Yashee saw red, and she raised her fists to attack him head on, only to find herself frozen in place. The wizard simply picked her up, adjusted the position he wanted her in, and transfigured a cheap wooden drum for her to ‘play’.

Her dull eyes watched, unable to even blink as the wizard picked up the still unconscious Randy, and easily transformed his clothes into a silly red and white outfit like a holiday elf. 

Whistling a merry tune, the wizard gathered his new ornaments and hung them from the massive pine tree in the living room. They went well with the hundreds of other ornaments hanging there.

\---

Day 7: Mistletoe Kiss

"Okay, so here's the plan. Raz'ul, you lure Splash here. Yashee, you have Mitch. And I've got this." Randy lifted up the branch of mistletoe he tied onto the long stick. "I'll hide in the stable, and when they come in here..."

"We can't actually make them kiss?" Raz'ul asked. "This could just get awkward, man."

"Just leave it to me," Randy's grin grew even wider, even as he heard Eddie's laughter in his head. He was suspicious when Eddie offered to help with this prank, but apparently it was enough mischief for him, and he showed Randy how to make any two people underneath the branch kiss. "I got this."

"Alright, operation Hallmark is a go!" Yashee cheered, and the three members of Chaos Sauce high fived before Raz'ul and Yashee ran off to get their teacher and his driver. Randy settled in on Zil's shoulders to lie in wait.

He didn't have to wait for long- Raz'ul and Yashee returned, downtrodden as they both returned alone. "Sorry, I couldn't find Splash anywhere..."

"I found Mitch, but he said Splash was out of town." Yashee shrugged. "I saw Tabitha though, and I asked if she could come hang out?"

"Hey, at least we got something out of this," Raz'ul said, patting Yashee on the thigh. Randy wanted to say something too, but suddenly he froze, his control not his own.

 _'Well, this isn't what I was planning... but it'll still be fun.'_ Was all Randy heard before he saw himself swinging the mistletoe towards Yashee and Raz'ul, and suddenly they were all over each other, hands and lips intertwined in a gross display.

It only took a few minutes- a few minutes of Randy struggling against Eddie, and trying to erase the image of his friends slobbering over each other- before Tabitha walked in, completely unaware of the disaster around her. "Yashee, are you-"

And then she stopped in her tracks, tears in her eyes. Eyes that soon greyed over. _**"YOU HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE."**_

\---

Day 8: Cookies

"So, what kind of cookies did you guys make at home?" Yashee asked, stretching out. Alto Brown managed to trick them all into playing 'Fantasy Nailed It' aka baking desserts for him. It was probably just a scam to get them to do his work for him, but Yashee honestly liked it. It was nice to spend time in the kitchen with her friends.

"No more cookies..." Randy groaned, collapsed against the side of the cupboard dramatically. "We had to bake like fifty..."

"Each," Raz'ul added, rubbing the crumbs out of his beard. "I mean, we did eat that many too, so it's fair."

"C'mon, you had to have a favorite one you made as a kid with your family!"

"Uh..." Randy rubbed his head. "I don't really... remember baking anything as a kid."

"My family never baked," Raz'ul pointed out. "Since we're... y'know."

"Oh..." Yashee visibly deflated. "I was hoping one of you guys did it so we could make them together..."

"Well, we can make whatever you made with your family." Randy said, sitting up a bit higher. 

"Actually..." Yashee began to look sheepish. "We never had a kitchen to bake in, so..."

There was an awkward amount of silence as the three reluctantly reminisced on their pasts. Finally, Raz'ul broke the ice. "I actually really liked those peppermint cookies we just made?"

"Really, for me it was the triple chocolate cookies!" Yashee said, eyes a glow as she remembered the deathly amounts of chocolate they dumped into the dough.

"Those cinnamon twistie things." Randy said, trying to motion with his hands. "They were great..."

"Well, I guess," Yashee said, a smile forming on her face, "we all have memories of making cookies with our family after all..."

\---

Day 9: Lights

“What’s that one?” Yashee asked, pointing up at the scattering of Stars above them. 

“That’s Anonia’s Harp,” Tabitha said, tracing the shape from dot to dot to try and show Yashee what it looked like. Somehow, it ended up with her hand on Yashee’s, but neither of them minded. “She placed it up there after she sang the sea dragon to sleep.”

“Woah...” Yashee looked up in amazement, then eagerly pointed to another group of stars. “What about that one?”

“Oh, that’s the sea dragon.” Tabitha said, then giggled a bit. “That’s uh- that’s why it’s so close. So Anonia can play her harp again if the dragon wakes up.”

“Huh,” Yashee rolled on her side to face Tabitha. “What’s this one?”

Tabitha looked over to see that Yashee was pointing at her. As soon as Tabitha was facing her, Yashee booped her nose. “Oh, uh- Yashee?”

“My favorite light of them all.”

\---

Day 10: Loco for Cocoa

It was three AM, and Randy couldn’t sleep- too distracted by his thoughts and fears, and the whispers in his head.

When he was on the road, all he could do was curl up into a ball and pretend not to exist. Now, at Strumlotts, he was able to sneak his way into the kitchens.

His mother never directly taught him how to make this, but he remembered it clearly. Three cups of milk, warming in a pan on the oven, mixed with chocolate powder and marshmallows, and transferred into big mugs upon a tray to carry bank. The final touch was a candy cane to stir it and to melt inside the hot chocolate.

It was 3:20 AM when Randy returned, holding three mugs on a tray and knocking on Raz’ul and Yashee’s doors. “Hey, I had a bad dream. Can we talk?”

\---

Day 11: Snowed In

Yashee tried not to shiver, looking out into the snow- she had to be strong for her friends.

Raz’ul, after an awkward moment as a clam, transformed himself into a bear to cope with the cold. It helps, but not enough, not after he was hurt so badly that it took all their magic just to get him standing again. Still, he was strong enough to curl up around Randy to give him some warmth.

Randy wasn’t like her or Raz’ul- he didn’t have any extra meat on his bones to keep himself warm, and his bare feet were beginning to turn blue before Raz’ul put his bear feet on him.

Yashee stoked the fire, trying to keep the fire hot enough to keep them warm without filling the cave with smoke. She felt her rage boil up inside her, letting it heat her up from the inside out without bubbling over. She can’t fight this blizzard, just wait until it blew over.

“Well...” Raz’ul grumbled, voice deepened by his new bear form. He was a big bear, but he was curled up so small that Yashee could barely see Randy’s pale form underneath the brown bulk. “The weather outside is frightful...”

“I’ll get us out of here,” Yashee promised, rather than continue the song. “We’ll get home safe.”

\---

Day 12: Up On The Roof Top

Randy looked down to the ground- he wasn’t afraid of heights, but it was high enough that he’d break a leg, at least. He then looked up to Rhiannon, who was glaring down at him. “Are... are you sure?”

She just picked him, and held him over the chimney. “You’re the only one small enough to get down there, Randall. So get down there and actually do your job!”

With that, Rhiannon dropped him down the through the chimney, and as Randy bit back his scream, he wished he was back upon the rooftop.

\---

Day 13: Holiday Party

Randy pulled at the collar of his sweater awkwardly, wishing he was anywhere but at the Strumlotts holiday party.

It was students and staff alike, and besides his band mates, Splash and Mitch, the North Stars, and a few other teachers, he didn’t know most of the people here, and it was... loud, cramped and crowded. To make it even worse, he got into a fight with Gareth over who’s sweater was uglier, and that was almost too stupid to think about.

At least he was able to steal Gareth’s flask, which was helping him get through this train wreck. He took a sip, and paused as a voice burrowed through his brain. _”Well, this sure is a bundle of festive fun, eh Randy? Maybe we should liven things up.”_

Randy froze, his fake smile still plastered on his face. Whatever Eddie has planned was probably bad, but at least it would beat talking to Christina Blackblade again. _How so?_

 _”Just take that flask, and dump it into the punchbowl- it’s a classic!”_ Eddie chuckled, and yeah, that actually did sound fun. Randy was about to go along with it, but then he remembered Mitch proudly talking about how he'll be six months sober next week. He couldn’t ruin that.

Still, he felt Eddie pulling his body towards the punch bowl, and he had to act quickly before it was too late. Digging in his heels, Randy put the flask to his lips and drank the entire thing down in one go.

Things got... a bit hazy, after that. Randy vaguely remembered burrowing his face into Raz’ul’s beard, and being wrapped up into Yashee’s Arms.

\---

Day 14: Fireside Chat

Fireside Chat:

Raz’ul looked from Yashee petting Sandy to Randy, just fiddling with his organ, to Mitch roasting marshmallows over the fire, and to Splash, who was casually eating pudding. Taking a deep breath, Raz’ul asked what should have been a simple question. “So uh.. what would your best present be?”

All three of them looked over at him, and Raz’ul wanted to hide in his beard. “I mean... what do you want more than anything else in the world.”

“My mom back?”

“The Nowhere Man never existing... or maybe just not having a wizard possessing me through my stomach.”

_”To be free to have some REAL fun.”_

“World peace.”

“For you all to call me by my actual name.”

“Symbol, I’m pretty sure that’s the least likely one on the list.”

“What about you, Raz’ul? What would you want?”

 _To be a good Druid. For his father to respect him. For all his friends to be happy._ “I don’t know... a pony?”

“You could just turn into a pony, Raz’ul.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same.”

\---

Day 15: Carols and Perils

“This isn’t gonna work,” Raz’ul muttered, feeling doubt well up in his chest. Randy just elbowed him playfully.

“C’mon, Splash told us to do it, and we have to do at least some of what he wants us to do- you know, make a token effort.” Yashee shrugged, before ringing the doorbell. 

The door cracked open, just enough for the an eye to peer out at them suspiciously. “Wuzzat?”

The bards began to play- “On the first day of-“

Their song was interrupted, however, by a crossbow bolt coming through the door, almost hitting Raz’ul. “Go ‘way!”

“Go fuck yourself!” Randy called back as the door slammed shut. “So, it’s not Halloween, but I’d say he deserves a trick...”

“We aren’t TPing his house, Randy.”

“Oh, come on!”

\---

Day 16: Ice Skating

Randy wiggled his toes, still a little freaked out by not being able to see them. They did manage to find a pair of ice skates in his size, and he was ready to go ice skating for the first time.

Raz’ul had gone skating a few times with Reed, and Yashee went with her parents every year. It was full of fun memories for them, and they were so disappointed when he told them he’s never done it- so he has to at least try.

Randy took a shaky step onto the ice, and almost instantly kissed the ice. It was only the arms wrapped around each of his that prevented him from colliding.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Raz’ul said from Randy’s right side, pulling him up gently. Yashee smiled from his left side, crouching down so that they were face to face. “We got you.”

Knees knocking together, Randy stood up on the ice with support from his friends. He felt Yashee very carefully pat him on the shoulder. “You’re doing great! Now what way do you want to go?”

“Think we can do a group figure eight?”

\---

Day 17: Splash Santa

Symbol crept into his students dorm, late enough that even they were in the throes of sleep, softly cursing his procrastination- Mitch told him to get his presents ready for the bards in time, but he had to wait, and work to find the perfect present for each of them, and now he’s stuck sneaking into their rooms like a burglar, and put the presents under their tree to pretend they were there this whole time.

At least his stealth skills were decent for somebody who wasn’t a rogue, and he got the door unlocked with little difficulty- unfortunately, that was the only part that was easy.

As soon as Symbol stepped into the the living room, his foot got caught in a wire trap, and he was suddenly dragged up to the ceiling. “What-“

“We got him!” From his upside down position, Symbol could see three heads pop out from behind the couch. “We finally caught Sant- oh, hey Splash.”

“What are you doing.” He stated, trying to keep his cool and the presents in his arms. “And can you let me down? And... it's Symbol.”

“We’re gonna catch Santa,” Yashee said confidently, as if that was feasible considering, well... 

“What are you doing, then?” Raz’ul asked, arms crossed. 

Symbol had to think fast. “I’m... Santa, obviously. I’m here to deliver your presents.”

“Prove it,” Randy dared him, leaning by the release for the trap.

“Why do you think I want milk and cookies? You know I have a sweet tooth,” Symbol stated, trying to convince these actual adults he was Santa Claus. How was this his life.

The bards hid behind the couch, and began to mutter behind it. Finally, Randy let Symbol down slowly and reluctantly. “Sorry Splash- I mean, Santa.”

Symbol got to his feet. “Yeah, well... here you go, and ho ho ho...”

He passed each of them their presents, Randy looking at it suspiciously. “Why am I getting a present, then?”

“Well...” because your teacher wanted to get you a damn present. “Because I know you aren’t exactly... good... but I know you’re trying, and I’m proud of you.”

\---

Day 18: Naughty or Nice

Santa checked his list carefully. He was almost done sorting through the children of the world- even those above the age of 18, for they were all children to him- but he not had to deal with those bards down in Strumlotts.

Christina Blackblade? Nice, she’ll get a coupon for a massage and a relaxation kit.  
Gareth? Naughty, he deserves coal and Brussel sprouts.  
Tabitha? Definitely Nice, she’ll find a new sweater and a some fun calligraphy supplies.  
Ilda? Hmmm... Naughty, she’ll get a book about codependency and how to stand on her own two feet. 

Emma Zon? Nice.  
Emma Zon? Naughty. 

Sandy the Sandatee? Nice, a new pet bed and bootsies for her little flippers.  
Zil? Very Nice- bucket of fish heads.  
Symbol? Naughty, he’ll get a sweater with SPLASH written on it.  
Mitch? Nice, he gets to see his boyfriend in a cute sweater. Also a poster of a pony.

Chaos Sauce? As a unit, they were all confusing- Randy and Raz’ul have always been on the Naughty and Nice lists respectively, while Yashee kept switching between the two- however, once they have all joined forces, they’ve crossed the line between Naughty and Nice so much it was like a game to them.

Sighing, Santa placed the three in their own little pile- the Chaos Pile, apparently- and moved on.

\---

Day 19: Stockings

“Why did I do this, why did I do this..” Tabitha fretted, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a green and red sweater, barely long enough to be a dress and tight enough to show her curves more than she was used to. Her hair was braided with ribbons and bells, and she jingled whenever she moved.

But what made her truly anxious was the white and red stripped stockings, going from the edges of her thighs all the way to her new red leather boots. If she didn’t know it was her, she’d say it was cute- as it was, she just wanted to puke. 

She was gonna cancel, call Yashee and pretend she’s sick, and just-

**DING DONG, DING DONG, DINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONG**

Tabitha froze- there was only one person who’d ring the bell like that. Taking a deep breath, Tabitha walked to the door to meet her fate.

Yashee, of course, looked wonderful- a white shirt and a red vest, a red pair of shorts, and... “Uh, Tabs? I think we’re wearing the same socks?”

Tabitha couldn’t help but laugh as she hugged her girlfriend. “You wore it better.”

\---

Day 20: Snow Globes 

Tabitha had a snow globe collection- Yashee thought it was endearing, but strange. Snow globes weren’t useful like spoons were, but she supposed it was pretty to shake them and watch the snow falling. 

Tabitha told her, in hushed tones, that the snow globes were presents from her mother- that whenever her mother left, she brought Tabitha back a new snow globe, and it meant a lot to her. That she was still waiting for the next snow globe.

Yashee felt a surge of rage at Tabitha’s mother, for leaving her behind. Yashee’s mom left her too, but her husband was a good person and a good father. Tabitha didn’t have that, and it just made Yashee...

**CRACK**

Yashee froze, looking at the shattered remains of the snow globe in her grasp. “Oh no...”

"Yashee?" Tabitha asked, rushing in. "Are you- oh..."

"I'm, I'm so sorry..." Yashee was torn between trying to put the snowglobe back together and wiping the tears from her eyes. "I broke..."

"Hey," Tabitha wiped the tears from Yashee's eyes so that she didn't have to. "It's okay."

"But... but I broke it," it was important to Tabitha, and breaking it was like breaking her heart.

"It's just stuff, Yashee. It's not that important." Tabitha's smile was shaky, but honest. "The relationships behind it are what's really important."

\---

Day 21: Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

\---

Day 22: Hiding the Pickle

Logically, Randy knew food was plentiful- all it cost to get a meal at Strumlotts was a song, and Splash always had some snacks squirreled away somewhere. Raz’ul has trail mix, and Yashee had jerky. They always had food. 

But there was a part of him, deeper even than Eddie, that was convinced he had to have food stored away, just in case. He had a pouch in his bag just for his hidden food- it should be a week’s supply for him, and three days for Chaos Sauce- and a stockpile in his room, hidden under the floorboards where nobody should be able to find it, even when his friends were hanging out with him in his room.

Unless, of course, his half-orc friend stood directly on it and broke through it with her feet.

Raz’ul managed to get Yashee out as Randy despaired over his lost supplies. “Uh, Randy... do you want to talk about why you had a hidden pantry?”

“No...”

“Okay... you want to get more pickles from Alto, since Yashee smashed yours?”

“Yeah...”

\---

Day 23: Teddy (Bug)Bear

Some times the picture gets shown sideways, sometimes your coworker takes your sister's identity to take your identity and company, and then try to kill you by putting you in a teddy bugbear suit and throwing you to a band of bards 

\---

Day 24: March of the Toys

Despite the cold weather outside, Winter felt himself sweating inside the bugbear costume Holly stuck himself in, unable to struggle or even move under this odd spell she had cast on him- since when could she do magic, although there were apparently many things he didn’t know about his sister. He never would have suspected any of this from her, even at her most acidic.

He should have listened to Can, but as much as he loved the elf, Holly was his sister. Blood was thicker than water, at least the blood that stayed with him through thick and thin- how could she run away with him, after their parents refused to accept him for who he was, and then turn around and do this twenty years later? How could he drive her to do this?

Even after the bards free him, even after she wanted to kill him like this, Winter still pleads with them to help her, rather than kill her- to talk her down, because there’s clearly something that went wrong with her. He doesn't want her hurt, he just wants his sister back.

——

They help her- not in the way Winter expected, because he could never even dream that the wonderful, sweet Can D. Cane was the one responsible for this- but they free her from captivity after a month. 

A month. Can replaced his twin sister for a whole month, and Winter never noticed. Too wrapped up with his creations and his toys to realize his sister was a stranger. He almost wished he was back in the bear suit, or that he could take her pain away, but he can’t.

Holly rested her head on his shoulders, worn out from the emotions, and from her troubles. She was tired, bags under her eyes and clothes far more disheveled than his normally neat sister would ever accept. Winter wasn’t a strong man- Holly was far stronger, usually- but he was more than willing to lift her up when she needs it.

\---

Day 25: Green Christmas

Holly preferred a green March of the Toys. Winter didn’t, he always pouted out the window and complained about it being a “shame to his namesake”, but Holly just let him whine- she liked the warmer weather.

It went all the way back to their childhood, those cold winters stranded on the streets, huddling for warmth. She didn’t miss it at all- well, besides the closeness. That was the one light of that time, the way they took care of each other.

But that was still happening- they still love and take care of each other, even as adults. After all, somebody needs to watch out for that numbskull. 

Speak of the brother... “Hey, Holly, what’s up?”

“Oh, I’m just testing out a new factory setting,” Holly said casually, twisting a knob and pulling the final letter.

Looking out the window, both twins watched as the bubbles billowing out of the exhaust pipe was replaced by fluffy flakes of ice. “Holly, did you...”

“Merry March, Winter.”

\---

Day 26: Wreathes

“Uh, Raz’ul...” Raz’ul looked up from his books to see Yashee and Randy standing in front of them, Yashee holding a giant box. Both of them looked sheepish. “We could use your help?”

“The talking to plants kind of help,” Randy added, tapping the side of the box. There was an almost unintelligible noise from it. 

Gingerly, Raz’ul removed the lid of the box, to reveal a circle of leaves and branches woven together into a rough shape. Tiny moving shapes were moving around, and shouting in a familiar high pitch. “Are these the bear berries?”

“Yep, we’re trying to make them a new, uh... habitat, but they don’t seem appreciative...” Yashee pouted.

“You did destroy their home, and uh... there’s a hole in this version of it.” Raz’ul still felt heartened by this- they were trying to make things better, even if they were the ones who ruined it at first. They were trying to **be** better. “But I’ll talk to them,”

Randy grinned. “Thanks- and tell them that I’ll hang them from the door if they don’t stop complaining!”

Okay, Randy might not be trying hard, but he was still trying.

\---

Day 27: White Elephants

"So, we all bring one present to this thing?" Raz'ul said awkwardly, holding his present tightly. His was the only one wrapped- Yashee's stuffed elephant hanging limply in her bag, Randy's box of rocks open for the world to see, and he didn't seem to understand why.

"It's not really presents," Yashee said, as if that explained any thing. "It's more like... well, it's a game."

"It's a way to get rid of old stuff," Randy stated. "We all bring one piece of old crap to this thing, and we leave with somebody else's piece of old crap."

"It's not crap-" Yashee said, "it's all nice. Just on a budget!"

"So, do we just... pick which present we want?" Raz'ul asked. That didn't seem like much of a game to him. 

"Yes and no," Yashee shrugged. "We take turns picking objects, and then we-"

"We steal them," Randy said with a grin. "That's the fun part anyway."

"Randy!"

"No, that actually is part of the game." Yashee said, "you can steal from other people instead of taking it from the table."

"Oh, well I see why you like it then," Raz'ul nudged Randy goodheartedly. "It definitely sounds like fun."

"I just can't wait to steal Gareth's gift!"

\---

Day 28: Oranges

Albert Wonderland didn’t go into town often, too busy with his toys and inventions- but it was important for him to get supplies and to reconnect with the outside world. It wouldn’t do to spend so much time making toys for children, only to become completely disconnected from what children want. 

He gathered his groceries and was ready to walk to the carriage when he spotted them- two small figures lurking in the alley. Were they halflings, pale goblins, or some new form of trash gnomes?

His curiosity peaked, Albert followed them into the alley, where he found a fortress made of cardboard boxes and other detritus, and a pair of stick thin children, staring back at him with wide eyes.

The child with longer hair stood in front of the other protectively, glaring at him suspiciously. The other child looked at him curiously, wide eyed.

“Uh, hello,” Albert felt disarmed by their identical stares, raising his arms in surrender. “I’m Albert Wonderland. Are... are you okay?”

“I’m Winter, and she’s Holly,” the shorter haired one pipped up, only to be hushed by his sister. “And we’re- we’re okay.”

They didn’t look okay- they looked dirty and half starved, and Albert felt his heart swell with concern. But with the way Holly glared at him, he didn’t know how to help them.

Reaching in his bag, he pulled out a pair of oranges- full of vitamin C, and solid peels so they wouldn’t have to worry about whether he did anything to them. Street children... they'd have reasons not to trust him. Still, the twins looked at the oranges with a sense of heartbreaking awe. “Here you two go- no tricks.”

Cautiously, Winter and Holly took the oranges, although they didn’t peel them yet. “Um, thanks?”

It was better than nothing- Albert just nodded to them, and began to walk off. He had to plan for the next time he came down, and the next step in helping these poor kids.

\---

Day 29: Ugly Sweater

“Knit one, pearl two- or is it knit two, pearl one? Why are pearls involved in knitting...” Yashee muttered to herself as she attempted to knit a sweater.

If it was just for her, she would have given up hours ago. But this was for Tabitha- sweet, wonderful Tabitha who deserves the world. And Yashee can’t give her that, but she can give her a handmade sweater.

Hopefully. Right now it wasn’t looking very good- Yashee didn’t know what color yarn to use for it, so she used... all of them, and she was pretty sure Tabitha didn’t have three arms.

“Yashee?” Tabitha knocked, and entered. “Are you- what are you doing?”

“Nothing!” Yashee shouted, trying to shove the knitting underneath her chair- in her haste, one of the needles stuck to the chair and caught the half finished sweater. “Uh... whoops...”

“Oh, Yashee, you’re making me a... scarf?” Tabitha did a double take. “Oh, a sweater! Aw, you shouldn’t have!”

Yashee looked at her tangled mess. “I really shouldn’t have...”

Tabitha walked over and kissed Yashee on the cheek. “It’s perfect.”

\---

Day 30: Candy Cane

Can D. Cane couldn’t fit in a normal jail cell, after his attempted takeover and subsequent transformation, so instead he was stuck in an accursed doll house- as if he hadn’t had enough of toys when he worked for those damn Wondermans.

Speak of the devil, the guard knocked on his door, and just dropped him roughly on a table. “You have a visitor, candy man. The toymaker’s here for you.”

Couldn’t be the bitch- she was scared of him, after everything. So instead, it was the dumbass, looking at him with sad eyes like he killed his puppy. Well, locking up his sister, trying to get his killed via elaborate fursuit shenanigans, and taking the place of both him and his sister was close enough. “What do you want? It’s bad enough you got me shrunken down like this...”

“You got yourself here,” Winter sighed, looking down at the table. “...why, Can? Why?”

“I was tired of making toys, when we could have been doing so much more!” Can’s eyes lit up. “We could have made weapons, and made millions- but all you wanted to do was make dolls. I thought you’d at least listen to your stupid sister-“

“You don’t get to talk about Holly,” Winter said, with all the coldness of his namesake. “Not after what you did.”

“Oh, she was fine!” Can huffed, Crossing his arms. He didn’t do a thing to her.

“She was starving,” Winter hissed, and oh right. Humans need to eat more then once a day, apparently. “She was scared and hurt and it’s all your fault.”

“My fault-“ Can stood up to his full... three inch height. “It’s all your fault for not listening to me.”

Winter sighed, standing up. “It isn’t, and I hope you realize that soon. Until then... take care of yourself.”

With that, he left, leaving behind both a candy cane and Can D. Cane, looking contemplative, but not contrite. Not yet, anyway.

\---

Day 31: First Footing

Symbol carefully straightened his outfit, and knocked on the door to his students door.

The door opened, and Symbol looked down to see Randy, wearing two party hats as if they were horns. “Splash, what are you doing?”

“First footing,” Symbol said, gesturing to his bag of food, wine, and money. “It’s an old tradition. Also, it’s Symbol, Randy.”

Randy looked at him like he had two heads, then turned around. “GUYS! SPLASH IS HERE, AND HE WANTS TO PLAY FOOTSIE!”

“Randy, that’s no what it-“

“AND HE BROUGHT FOOD AND BOOZE!”

“Randy, it’s symbolic-“

“OH OKAY, LET HIM IN!”

Randy motioned him inside. Symbol sighed, then walked in with his package. Even if they didn’t understand what he meant, it was the tradition that mattered.

\---

Bonus Prompt: New Years Kiss

Tabitha was in her favorite place, tucked into Yashee’s lap, head on her shoulder and her elven ear tickling Yashee’s neck. She could feel Yashee’s heartbeat near her chest, and she was content with the world at large. The world is hard and cold, but her girlfriend is soft and warm, and all is at peace.

The last year has been tense but wonderful - full of magic and music, mystery and mischief, and more than anything, full of love. Not just with Yashee, but with her friends and family. (Even Gareth).

Tabitha was purring, as her girlfriend spoke. “Hey, Tabs?”

“Yesssm?”

“It’s almost midnight,”

“Mmmmhmm?”

“If we start kissing, we’ll be kissing for the rest of the year.”

“...hmmm, good,” Tabitha lazily sat up, still leaning on Yashee’s shoulder. And then they kissed their way until 2019.


End file.
